


work-in-progress

by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)



Series: rare ships [31]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Friendship, Past Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapist Lydia Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 20:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5554340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/foxerica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Jackson?” she calls out. “Jack?”</p>
<p>Nothing. Kira closes her eyes. If she concentrates really hard, she won’t have an anxiety attack. One, two, three, four, five. Hold for seven. Exhale for nine. Just as he taught her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	work-in-progress

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here!](http://foxerica.tumblr.com/post/133571866167/work-in-progress-jackson-kira)

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

 

Kira unlocks the door, pushing it open with her foot, and stumbling through. She almost loses her balance as she struggled to get all of her bags on the ground. The door slams shut, startling her. 

Kira exhales, disliking the way her heart races. Maybe one day, she’d be able to handle loud noises. She frowns at all of her bags on the floor as she covers her chest with her hand. Speaking with a therapist about her PTSD hadn’t been easy at first; Lydia had stared at her, patiently waiting until she said something. 

Every session, Lydia would let Kira sit down on the couch and wouldn’t say anything. She never even asked how Kira was. At first, Kira didn’t care. She hadn’t wanted to go to therapy anyway. But then it had started to get on her nerves.  She’d stormed in into her fourteenth therapy session, and demanded to know what the hell was up with Lydia. 

_“Talk to me!”_ she had shouted at the top of her lungs. _“Don’t you want to know why I’m here?“_

Lydia had simply tapped her notebook and said, _"This tells me why you’re here.”_

Kira had shot out of her chair, stormed around Lydia’s office. If she remembers correctly, she’d had insulted Lydia multiple times. But then she had insisted that Lydia didn’t know shit about why she was in the office, and Lydia had closed her notebook.

_“Then why don’t you tell me, Kira?”_  Things had gotten a little easier after that. Kira started to talk, had discussed techniques to dealing with things, and had learned quite a bit with Lydia. Kira evens out her breathing before she moves into the living room. 

“Hey, dumbass! Where are you?” 

When she doesn’t get a response, she reminds herself not to worry. This isn’t going to be the same thing that happened to her friend in her old hometown. There isn’t a mass murderer attacking teens. There isn’t. The chances of that happening to her once had been so slim; her parents told her it happening again were even more rare. 

Lydia had suggested taking self-defense. Kira had thought that advice was pretty good though. She’d tried out a few classes after finding different programs on Group-On. It’s how she met her best friend. 

She’d had a panic attack in the middle of the first class. He had told everyone to go home - they’d get a free class next week. Jackson had bent down beside her and spoke to her calmly. She remembers thinking that he had such large hands after he placed one on her small shoulder. It had surprised her enough that her breathing started to even out. It had taken her a while to realize that her instructor had been calmly telling her how to breathe. Inhale for five heart beats, hold for seven, and exhale for nine. 

“Jackson?” she calls out. “Jack?” 

 Nothing. Kira closes her eyes. If she concentrates really hard, she won’t have an anxiety attack. One, two, three, four, five. Hold for seven. Exhale for nine. Just as he taught her. 

 “Kira?” Jackson’s voice comes suddenly. Her eyes flash open on him. “Sorry, I had headphones in. I was doing laundry. I think you should probably teach me how to do that, by the way.”

“Everything’s pink again?” she asks, calmer now.

“More like a soft blue,” Jackson says, shrugging. “Who knew that blue dye also runs?” 

Kira smiles, walking over to him. She slips her hands around his waist and buries her face into his chest. Sometimes, she’s hit hard with the realization that meeting him changed her entire life for the better. He kisses her forehead and rubs the back of her head. 

“How are you today?”

“I’ve been better. I went grocery shopping,” she answers when she pulls away from him. He nods at her. 

“C'mon, let’s go put them away.” Kira let’s him take her hand and lead them back to the foyer. “How are you today?”

“I’m alright. Lydia is still ignoring my calls,” Jackson tells her with a shrug. Kira frowns. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t ask her–”

“No,” Jackson says, maybe a little too quickly. “Your therapy sessions are about you. Don’t worry about me. So, what are we making tonight?”

“Tacos,” Kira tells him with a smile. They let go of their hands to pick up the bags. “I was craving them. They used to be Molly’s favourite. I haven’t had them since…” 

Kira lets her voice trail. She doesn’t have to finish her sentence. Since most of her friends had been victims of horrific murders by some monster. She still has a hard time thinking about it. Joining Jackson at the kitchen counter, they take the food out of the bags and start putting them away. 

“Have you talked to Scott recently?” Jackson prompts her after a moment when he accepts that she’s not going to say anything else. Kira shrugs. 

“Sort of. We talked on the phone. It’s just…” Jackson knows. Kira had met Scott the first day in this town. A fresh start, her parents had told her. She could start anew; could put the horrors behind her. Kira tried. 

She threw all she had into her relationship with Scott. She got to know most of his friends - Stiles, Derek, Cora, Allison, Isaac, Malia, Danny, Erica, Boyd, Laura, Tracy, Hayden, Liam, Mason, Paige, and Alicia. He had such a wide circle of friends, and for a while, Kira pretended nothing was wrong. 

One night, about three months after living in Beacon Hills, she woke up outside of Tracy’s bedroom window. Kira had been sleepwalking, unaware that she had been trekking around town to check on some of her friends to ensure they were safe, and that’s when the truth had come out. 

 Kira had told everyone what had happened, and finally saying the words out loud had made her realize nothing was okay. Scott had been great. He and his friends had offered her a support system she hadn’t expected. Allison had referred her to Lydia when she met her not long after college.

It had been a huge step for her; a step her parents had said they were so proud of her for finally making. Ten years after the tragedy and Kira is getting professional help for the first time. Her parents had tried, but Kira was stubborn. She thought getting help was showing weakness and she was stronger than that. Somehow, when Allison - the strongest girl Kira knew - had suggested therapy, it didn’t seem so weak. 

Here she is, twenty six and finally getting the help she needs. She doesn’t regret a thing though. She wouldn’t have met Jackson otherwise, and he’s become her rock. 

Once a week, they get together and make dinner together. It’s a standing date she always looks forward to. Kira starts shredding cheese. “It’s just that he says he’s still so in love with me, but I see the way he looks at Allison and Isaac. I don’t want him to feel like he has to be with me because I’m all messed up.”

Jackson bumps her hip gently. She looks up at him. “You’re not all messed up. Even if you were, you are freakishly good way fencing. That sword was made for your hand - and wasn’t there that whole legend about the sword in the stone? You’re definitely worthy of pulling it out, Kira.”

Kira shrugs. “Thanks, but that doesn’t help my current situation. I don’t want to stop Scott from being happy. I will always be a work-in-progress.”

“Don’t tell him that. He’ll fight you,” Jackson tells her as he washes off the head of lettuce. “Hell, I wanna fight you.”

“We fence on Thursday,” Kira tells him. She pats his arm. “Wait until then.”

Jackson rolls his eyes. “What movie do you wanna watch tonight? It’s your choice.”

Kira’s eyes shine. “Something light. A cheesy rom-com.” 

Jackson huffs, but they both know he’s a bigger sucker for romantic comedies than she is. She smiles at him and grabs the tomato to cut up. Jackson glances down at her. “Typical. I make you watch action last week, so you’re going to make me suffer some Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis movie, huh?”

 Kira laughs. "Are you talking about Friends with Benefits? We can watch that if you want to, Jack.” 

He shrugs. “It’s funny.”

After they’ve finished their tacos and they’re curled up on the couch, Kira shifts so she can snuggle against Jackson. He strokes her hair with his thumb, and keeps an arm wrapped around her tightly. They watch Friends with Benefits, and Kira falls asleep before the end.

She wakes up in the middle of the night, tucked away in Jackson’s bed beside him. She snuggles closer, closing her eyes again. 

 She’s a work-in-progress, but she knows she’s always better with her best friends around her. Kira has no nightmares that night, and dreams of kicking Jackson’s ass in fencing on Thursday.

 

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ 

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many Jackson & Kira feels.
> 
> This came out awkwardly though.
> 
> Find me [here!](http://www.foxerica.tumblr.com)


End file.
